Narrow elastic fabric for apparel waistbands

ABSTRACT

A narrow elastic fabric suitable for use in the band encircling portion of articles of apparel. The fabric comprises a set of filling yarns running in the transverse direction of the fabric and a set of warp yarns running in the longitudinal direction of the fabric. The warp yarns comprise elastic yarns, stretch synthetic yarns and nonelastic yarns. There are twice as many stretch synthetic yarns as there are elastic yarns and three times as many nonelastic yarns as there are stretch yarns in the warp set. The nonelastic yarns are woven with the filling yarns in a twill weave whereas the remaining warp yarns are woven with the filling yarns in a plain weave so that the face surface of the fabric is primarily composed of nonelastic yarns.

United States Patent 1191 Campbell et al.

[ June 3, 1975 NARROW ELASTIC FABRIC FOR APPAREL WAISTBANDS [75] Inventors: Roger G. Campbell; Richard E.

Goff, Jr., both of Barrington; Normand D. Guay, Woonsocket, all of RI.

[73] Assignee: Johnson & Johnson, New

Brunswick, NJ.

22 Filed: July 31,1974

21 Appl. No.: 493,441

Related US. Application Data [62] Division of Ser. No. 370,103, June 14, 1973.

52 us. c1. 2/237 51 1111.01. A4119/00 [58] Field of Search 2/227, 237, 221, 76; 139/421, 422, 423; 161/77 [56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,708,274 5/1955 Vander et al. 2/237 2,757,381 8/1956 Cottier et a1 2/237 ab. Zor -1 *l 3,172,430 3/1965 Weibhaas 139/422 3,597,300 8/1971 Miller 139/421 X FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS 282,074 4/1968 Australia 139/421 1,485,827 5/1967 France 139/422 Primary ExaminerH. Hampton Hunter [5 7 ABSTRACT A narrow elastic fabric suitable for use in the band en circling portion of articles of apparel. The fabric comprises a set of filling yarns running in the transverse direction of the fabric and a set of warp yarns running in the longitudinal direction of the fabric. The warp yarns comprise elastic yarns, stretch synthetic yarns and nonelastic yarns. There are twice as many stretch synthetic yarns as there are elastic yarns and three times as many nonelastic yarns as there are stretch yarns in the warp set. The nonelastic yarns are woven with the filling yarns in a twill weave whereas the remaining warp yarns are woven with the filling yarns in a plain weave so that the face surface ofthe fabric is primarily composed of nonelastic yarns.

2 Claims, 14 Drawing Figures 1 NARROW ELASTIC FABRIC FOR APPAREL WAISTBANDS This is a division of application Ser. No. 370,103, filed June 14, 1973.

This invention relates to narrow elastic fabrics and more particularly to a narrow elastic fabric suitable for use in articles of wearing apparel.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION The narrow elastic fabric of the present invention may be used in the band encircling portions of various types of articles of apparel such as the leg encircling or waist encircling portion of a girdle or the waist encircling portion of a pair of trousers and the like. The type of garment and the place in the garment where the narrow elastic fabric is to be used will determine the amount of stretch and the modulous of elasticity required in the elastic fabric. The amount of stretch and the modulous of elasticity of an elastic fabric for use in a girdle will be different than that desired for use in trousers. Also the amount of elasticity and modulous of elasticity required in the leg encircling portion of a garment may be different than that required in the waist encircling portion of a garment.

The present invention will be described in its preferred use as a waistband in trousers, however, as is well known in the art the amount of elasticity and the modulous of elasticity may be varied.

Waistbands and especially trouser Waistbands often suffer from what is termed unsightly rollover; that is, the band of the trouser or other garment will turn over on itself during wear or afterwards. There have been a number of techniques for reducing or eliminating this rollover. One such technique is to place a curvilinear or concave cross-section in the waistband.

With the advent of the use of such materials as double knit fabrics in trousers some stretch fabrics have been developed for use in the waistbands of these garments to provide the required stiffness and stretch.

Some of these stretch fabrics have been developed to correct the rollover problem; however, the prior art products are heavy, have considerable thickness and are difficult to incorporate in the trouser so as to present a nice appearance. This-is'especially true in the lighter weight or summer weight trousers.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION We have discovered an improved'narrow elastic fabric which is suitable for use in the band encircling portion of articles of clothing to prevent unsightly rollover. Our new fabric is very thin, almost-see-through, and lightweight. It has excellent wall stability to prevent the rollover and excellent resiliency or snapback when creased or bent. Our new waistband has good washability and minimum shrinkage.

Though monofilament filling yarns are used in the transverse direction of the fabric to provide the desired wall stability and prevent rollover our new fabric has excellent coverage of these monofilament yarns and unexpectedly has excellent resiliency even though monofilament yarns are used. Also .our new fabric has a satin appearing surface to allow it to be used by itself in the article of wearing apparel.

Our new fabric has a face surface and a back surface and is woven from a set of filling yarns running in the transverse direction of the fabric and a set of warp yarns running in the longitudinal direction of the fabric.

The set of warp yarns comprise elastic yarns, stretch synthetic yarns and nonelastic yarns. There are twice as many stretch synthetic yarns as there are elastic yarns in the warp set and there are three times as many nonelastic yarns as there are stretch synthetic yarns in the warp set. The nonelastic warp yarns are woven with the filling yarns in a twill weave preferably a two over one twill weave. This twill weave causes the face surface of the fabric to be primarily composed of the nonelastic yarns and provides this surface with a pleasing appearance. The stretch synthetic yarns are woven with the filling yarns in a plain one by one weave and the elastic yarns are woven with the filling yarns in a plain one by one weave. There are at least two stretch synthetic yarns used between elastic yarns. The above described weaving of the stretch synthetic yarns and the elastic yarns provides a complimentary diamond pattern to the pattern of the nonelastic yarns on the face surface to give a satin appearance to the fabric. The weave as described above provides the face surface with frictional characteristics which prevent slippage and give excellent coverage of the filling yarns so that they are not readily apparent in the final fabric. Furthermore the specific weave unexpectedly provides resiliency in the transverse direction of the fabric even though the fabric is thin and lightweight.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 2. FIG. 20 is a cross-sectional view taken at line 2c of FIG. 2. r

FIG. 3 is an enlargedplan view of a portion of the narrow elastic fabric of the present invention in the relaxed state.

FIG. 3a is a cross-sectional view taken at line 3a of FIG. -3.

FIG. 3b is a cross-sectional view taken at line 3b of FIG. 3.

FIG. 3c is a cross-sectional FIG. 3. r 4

FIG. 4 is a schematic plan view showing the weave of the elastic yarns.

FIG. 5 is a schematic plan view showing the weave of the nonealstic yarns.

FIG. 6 is a schematic view showing the trousers formed by the elastic yarns and the nonelastic yarns.

FIG. 7 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the edge portion of the narrow elastic fabric of the present invention taken along line 77 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 8 shows a portion of a pair of trousers incorporating the narrow elastic fabric waistband of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS Referring to the drawings in FIG. 1 there is shown a plan view of the narrow elastic fabric 14 of the present view taken at line 30 of invention. The filling yarns run in the transverse direction of the fabric and the warp yarns run in the longitudinal direction 16 of the fabric.

As is more clearly seen in FIG. 2 (stretched state) and FIG. 3 (relaxed state) the filling yarns 17 are monofilament yarns to provide the necessary wall stability in the transverse direction of the yarns. Monofilament yarns are preferred because they have the desired stiffness. Monofilament yarns approximately 13 mils or 850 denier are suitable to form the thin lightweight narrow elastic fabrics of the present invention. Nylon yarns are preferred though polyester or other synthetic monofilament yarns may be used.

Woven with the filling yarns are the elastic warp yarns 18, the stretch synthetic yarns l9, and the nonelastic warp yarns 20. The nonelastic warp yarns are woven so as to be on the face surface of the fabric. As is more clearly seen in the cross-sectional views FIGS. 2a, b, and c and FIGS. 3a, b, and c the elastic yarns 18 and the stretch yarns 19 contract when the fabric is relaxed. However, the nonelastic yarns 20 are bulked or raised when the fabric is allowed to relax.

Preferably the nonelastic yarns are bright nylon multifilament yarns and are woven with the monofilament filling yarns in a two by one twill weave; that is, with the warp yarn passing over two fillings then under one filling yarn as shown in FIGS. 2b and 3b, with every fourth nonelastic warp yarn being a repeat. This twill weave produces a very pleasing pattern on the face surface of the fabric as depicted in FIG. 5.

It is preferred that the nonelastic warp yarns be a bright fiber to give a satiny appearance. Suitable yarns would be multifilament bright nylon yarns having ten twists per inch and being from about 100/20/l0 to 100/65/10. One hundred denier yarn having a denier per filament of 1.5 to 5 are satisfactory for forming the face surface of the fabric.

The elastic yarns l8 and the stretch synthetic yarns 20 are woven as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 and form the back surface of the fabric. Twice as many stretch synthetic yarns are used as elastic yarns with at least two stretch synthetic yarns woven in between adjacent elastic yarns as shown in the .drawings. The stretch synthetic yarns are preferably stretch nylon though stretch polyester yarns and the like may also be used. Suitable stretch nylons are 70s/2.

The elastic yarns used are Spandex core yarns about size 1680 wrapped with 70s/2 stretch nylon with both atop and a bottom wrap for good coverage of the Spandex core.

Both the elastic yarn and the stretch synthetic yarns are woven in a one by one plain weave; however, by placing two stretch synthetic yarns between adjacent elastic yarns a complimentary diamond pattern is formed by the elastic yarns also on the face surface of the narrow elastic fabric as schematically shown in FIG. 4. The complimentary patterns shown in FIG. 6 give excellent coverage of the monofilament filling yarns and provide excellent support to the monofilament filling yarns which it is theorized unexpectedly improves the wall stability and the resiliency of the entire fabric.

In weaving our new elastic fabric approximately 34 picks or filling yarns per inch are woven into the fabric so that the finished fabric contains about 48 filling yarns per inch or maybe even more. The warp count of the fabric is generally in the ratio of 312 nonelastic multifilament warp yarns, 104 stretch synthetic warp yarns and 52 elastic yarns so that the ratio is about 6:22] respectively. These numbers are for 2 /2 inch wide fabric.

When using monofilament filling yarns they bend over themselves in forming the selveges of the fabric and become quite harsh and rough and can be uncomfor table to the wearer when the fabric is placed in the article of wearing apparel. To overcome' this edge roughness in the narrow elastic fabric the edges are woven as is shown in FIG. 7. Where the monofilament filling yarn 17 bends about itself to form the next filling, stretch synthetic yarns 21 such as stretch nylon, preferably /2 nylon, are woven in a tubular weave with this edge of the filling yarn. Generally anywhere from 10 to 20 stretch synthetic yarns are woven in each edge to produce desirable coverage in the edge and generally the weave is a three over one weave to give the desired coverage. More stretch yarns may be woven in one edge than in the other edge to give the desired balance during the weaving operation.

In FIG. 8 there is shown the waist encircling portion of a pair of trousers 22 with the narrow elastic fabric 23 in accordance with the present invention sewn to the inside waist portion of the trousers to form the final waistband of the trousers.

The above detailed description has been given for clearness of understanding only and no unnecessary limitations should be understood therefrom as modifications will be obvious to those skilled in the art.

What isclaimed is:

1. In a pair of trousers made from stretchable material, said trousers having an inwardly folded edge portion about the waist thereof, a waistband attached to said folded edge comprising a thin lightweight narrow elastic fabric having a face surface and a back surface, said fabric comprising a set of monofilament filling yarns running in the transverse direction of the fabric and a set of warp yarns running in the longitudinal direction of the fabric said set of warp yarns comprising elastic yarns, stretch synthetic yarns and nonelastic yarns, there being twice as many stretch synthetic yarns as there are elastic yarns in the warp set and three times as many nonelastic yarns as there are stretch yarns in the warp set, said nonelastic yarns being woven with said filling yarns in a twill weave to form the face surface of said fabric, said face surface being primarily composed of said nonelastic yarns to form a twill pattern on the face surface, said stretch synthetic yarns and said elastic yarns being woven with said filling yarns in a plain weave with at least two stretch synthetic yarns being disposed between adjacent elastic yarns to form the back surface of said fabric, said elastic yarns forming a complimentary diamond pattern on the face surface of said fabric whereby the filling yarns are covered and stabilized in the fabric and rollover of the waist encircling portion of the trousers is prevented.

2. In a pair of trousers according to claim 1 wherein the narrow elastic fabric has 13 mil nylon monofilament filling yarns, the elastic yarns of the warp set are Spandex core yarns wrapped with stretch nylon top and bottom, the stretch synthetic yarns in the warp set are stretch nylon yarns and the nonelastic yarns in the warp set are bright nylon multifilament yarns.

UNITED STATES PATENT AND TRADEMARK OFFICE CERTIFICATE OF CORRECTION PATENT NO. 3, 886, 598

DATED June 3, 1975 t lN\/ ENTOR( S) Roger G. Campbell, Richard E. Goff Jr., NormandD.

Gua it is certified thayerror appears in the above-identified patent and that said Letters Patent are hereby corrected as shown below:

In Column 1, line 17, the word "modulous" should read. modulus In Column 1, line 19, the word "modulous" should read modulus In Column 1, line 21, the word "modulous" should read modulus In Column 1, line 28, the word "modulous" should. read modulus In Column 2, line 56, the word "nonealstic" should read nonelastic In Column 2, line 57, the words "the trousers formed" should read. the twill patterns formed In Column 4, line 6, the tvord "selveges" should read selvages Signed and Sealed this fourth Day Of May 1976 [SEAL] Arrest:

RUTH- C. MIA-SON C. MARSHALL DANN 1/ Commissioner uj'lalc'ms and Trademarks 

1. In a pair of trousers made from stretchable material, said trousers having an inwardly folded edge portion about the waist thereof, a waistband attached to said folded edge comprising a thin lightweight narrow elastic fabric having a face surface and a back surface, said fabric comprising a set of monofilament filling yarns running in the transverse direction of the fabric and a set of warp yarns running in the longitudinal direction of the fabric said set of warp yarns comprising elastic yarns, stretch synthetic yarns and nonelastic yarns, there being twice as many stretch synthetic yarns as there are elastic yarns in the warp set and three times as many nonelastic yarns as there are stretch yarns in the warp set, said nonelastic yarns being woven with said filling yarns in a twill weave to form the face surface of said fabric, said face surface being primarily composed of said nonelastic yarns to form a twill pattern on the face surface, said stretch synthetic yarns and said elastic yarns being woven with said filling yarns in a plain weave with at least two stretch synthetic yarns being disposed between adjacent elastic yarns to form the back surface of said fabric, said elastic yarns forming a complimentary diamond pattern on the face surface of said fabric whereby the filling yarns are covered and stabilized in the fabric and rollover of the waist encircling portion of the trousers is prevented.
 1. In a pair of trousers made from stretchable material, said trousers having an inwardly folded edge portion about the waist thereof, a waistband attached to said folded edge comprising a thin lightweight narrow elastic fabric having a face surface and a back surface, said fabric comprising a set of monofilament filling yarns running in the transverse direction of the fabric and a set of warp yarns running in the longitudinal direction of the fabric said set of warp yarns comprising elastic yarns, stretch synthetic yarns and nonelastic yarns, there being twice as many stretch synthetic yarns as there are elastic yarns in the warp set and three times as many nonelastic yarns as there are stretch yarns in the warp set, said nonelastic yarns being woven with said filling yarns in a twill weave to form the face surface of said fabric, said face surface being primarily composed of said nonelastic yarns to form a twill pattern on the face surface, said stretch synthetic yarns and said elastic yarns being woven with said filling yarns in a plain weave with at least two stretch synthetic yarns being disposed between adjacent elastic yarns to form the back surface of said fabric, said elastic yarns forming a complimentary diamond pattern on the face surface of said fabric whereby the filling yarns are covered and stabilized in the fabric and rollover of the waist encircling portion of the trousers is prevented. 